Summer Ochem...

[scottyhoop]

Anyone here take both sections over the summer? How horrible was it?
Scott

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[xdianaax]

I heard it was pretty horrible, most people can't perform up to par in both sections, they usually end up with a lower grade then they would have gotten in a regular semester...that or they end up with a "W"

 

[jackbauer!]

i would do it..

summer classes are generally easier for 2 reasons:

(1) the final exams are usually not cumulative, and
(2) you usually attend class 5 days a week...so the material is always fresh. you are forced to stay on top of the material everyday. if you are diligent you will be rewarded..

jb!

 

[DentalDevil]

Just don't plan to be doing anything else during that time and you'll probably be ok. It won't be easy, but it's doable.

 

[scottyhoop]

good to hear...I have no plans for 10 weeks

 

[nwdmd]

I'd highly suggest it, just realize that you are sacrificing part of your summer for 9 months of school w/o ochem.
(A sprint instead of a marathon)

My experience:

• We had 3 hrs of lecture a day followed by 2 hrs with the prof. (4 days a week)
• We had "midterms" every monday (=goodbye weekends) and then a somewhat cumulative final.
• It's nice only worrying about o chem.
• The campus was fairly empty, so there weren't many distractions.
• Office hours were crucial.
• Get to know others in the class, study together, keep it fun on the long weekends.
• The feeling after finishing is amazing, and it continues all year when your science friends complain about the constant ochem cloud that's over their heads.

This is kind of irrelevant, but I wish I could take all of my difficult classes this way, a couple colleges, like Colorado College offer all of their classes in this format (one class for 5 weeks, week off, next class for 5 weeks, week off, etc)

Good luck!

 

[Mackchops]

My summer last year was:
Ochem 1 and 2 w/lab
Human Anatomy and Physiology w/lab
Study for DAT

I did well on all the above. Didn't do anything other than study. The worst part was that rushing through such important classes over the summer left me with poor recall -- I didn't learn a thing, just crammed it all up in my head for the tests then let it go. Orgo was my lowest section of the DAT because of this.

PM me if you have any questions.

Mack

 

[SummaryRuled]

I did it... it was the most awful experience ever......

I did not work, i did not have a life, and my grades sucked.
(After that class i had a 4.0 for the next 4 semesters at a top 30 school).

If you are good at memorizing a lot of information quickly you will be fine. If you need time to absorb and actually learn material over a few days, do it during the year.

 

[teefie]

no life, no fun, lots of work, but you can laugh at all the people that have 30 weeks of OCHEM in the fall and be able to brag about how much of a hardass you are in taking OCHEM extreme.

 

[pmantz]

If you don't have to, don't do it. Although you are in class 5 days a weak, you will not retain the information as well.(my opinion) I guess if you are taking it to get it out of the way its all right, but if you are interested in Ochem like myself, the summer is much too fast. I took calc II over the summer and my teacher said, if you really are interested in calculus you probaly shouldn't take this class. You will hit the basics, but you won't get the complete picture. Everyone is different however. I was sighned up for a summer course, and I was discouraged by my chem profesor.....

 

[soswank]

I took O-Chem over the summer and looking back, it was the best decision I made. The material was easlier, plus with a daily repentitance it just stays longer I believe so. The only drawback is that for two months straight all you do is O-Chem. I ended up with a B+ only because I was taking 6 credits of Bio over the summer as well.

 

[scottyhoop]

I am going to be taking my DAT in Sept, so hopefully the Ochem will be fresh enough to not have to spend a lot of time on it so I can focus on other sections. Also...I will be taking Biochem in the fall so I need to get Orgo out of the way. I will admit that not having to do it all next year is a major motivating factor!
Scott

 

[Loop]

I took Organic 1 in a 5 week class over the summer. Id not taken a science in 2 years, id not taken gen chem in 3 years. I was taking 2 other classes concurrently. I ended up getting a C and I was extremely proud of it. Everyone was failing, everyone was dropping the class, it was hell on earth. If you do it, make sure you are in an optimal situation for it. Make sure you are a good student, have good study skills, are fresh on general chemistry concepts(it helps), and not taking other rough classes during this time period. You need to just make organic your life for the next 5 weeks.

Depending on your prof, it will be an ordeal usually. Something you can look back on and say, wow, that woke me the hell up. I wish I had done better but I got in over my head when I was not focused as a student.

 

[Motown]

I was in a very similar situation. I took both O-chem sections back to back while studying for the DAT. It does take a fair amount of commitment but there is no reason that you can't excel in the class just because of the accelerated curriculum - it is much like studying for a normal semester - only on the same subject. I found it very doable and it means one less section on the DAT that you have to review for.

 

[doc toothache]

I did it... it was the most awful experience ever......

I did not work, i did not have a life, and my grades sucked.
(After that class i had a 4.0 for the next 4 semesters at a top 30 school).

If you are good at memorizing a lot of information quickly you will be fine. If you need time to absorb and actually learn material over a few days, do it during the year.

Not having a life sounds like the experience you are likely to have in dental school, except that it lasts longer than a summer.

 

[scottyhoop]

I was in a very similar situation. I took both O-chem sections back to back while studying for the DAT. It does take a fair amount of commitment but there is no reason that you can't excel in the class just because of the accelerated curriculum - it is much like studying for a normal semester - only on the same subject. I found it very doable and it means one less section on the DAT that you have to review for.

Great! That's exactly what I want to hear! I'm glad it worked out for you and hopefully it will work the same for me! I'm actually looking forward to the class. I think the butt kicking will give me a small taste of what Dschool is going to be like so it will be good for me!
Scott